TIP: Feel free to mix English and Irish. That's a great way to get your feet wet.

TIP: On this thread, We will try to stick to phrases and sentence structures presented in the material mentioned above. But since this is free-form conversation, we will naturally use words that aren't in the lessons. When we do that, we will try to remember to define new words when we first use them.

TIP: You don't have to read all of the lessons before you start. You can go at your own pace, reading part of a lesson, then coming to this thread to practice.

TIP: If you don't understand something said on this thread, it's probably in one of the lessons, or explained in an earlier post on this thread.

TIP: Feel free to ask questions about grammar, etc.

TIP: If you're using a different book, you can still participate. You probably know most of what you need to know. Just briefly skim the material mentioned above, and make note of any unfamiliar words or phrases.

Cheat SheetHere is a "cheat sheet" of phrases that we often use in simple conversation.

NOTE: You probably realise by now that beginnings of words change (lenition or eclipsis) in Irish in certain situations, as do endings. I haven't explained those rules here; you can learn them from lessons mentioned above.

How are you?There are three ways to say "How are you?", depending on your dialect. Just pick the one you're most comfortable with, and use it.Conas atá tú? (Munster)Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú? (Connaught)Cad é mar atá tú? (Ulster)

I have given approximate phonetic pronunciations for the phrases below. Pronunciation varies from one dialect to another. If you learned a different way of pronouncing these words, don't worry. I pronounce many of these words differently myself, but I've tried to give you the most typical pronunciation.

Tá mé i mo chónaí i _____. = I live in _____. TAW MAY ih MUH HOH-neeCá bhfuil tú i do chónaí? = Where do you live? KAW WILL TOO ih DUH HOH-neeRugadh agus togadh mé i _____. = I was born and reared in _____. RUG-oo GUSS TOH-goo MAY ih...Is as _____ ó dhúchas mé. = I'm originally from _____. ISS AHSS _____ OH GHOO-khus MAY